Robert Hewson Pruyn (1815-1882)

Felice (or Felix) Beato (1835-1907) is the best known photographer to have worked in Japan in the nineteenth century. He operated in Yokohama from 1863 to 1877, traveling across Japan to photograph landscapes and cities, returning to his studio to take portraits of the Americans and Europeans living in Yokohama. Beato also sold his famous views of the Crimean War, China and India to his studio patrons. This portrait of Pruyn captures some of his careworn appearance attributable to the diplomatic and military conflicts that filled his time during his four-year stay in Japan.